Saturday, September 23, 2017

Many people, including myself, currently or at one time have
operated out of the thinking that our mental faults or attributes somehow make
us special: i.e. unaccountable and forgivable for our attitudes and actions.

Thankfully, I consider myself in the category of “who at one
time” did this. Humorously, it could be granted that in this I am perhaps
deluding myself! It is the risk one takes when one declares any level of
victory over a personal dysfunction.

As it is, I do believe myself free of the moniker “special”
for past addictions and past and current personality disorders.

And I have a Christian friend to thank for that.

It was to this friend, several years ago, that I was
reciting the seriousness of and damage done by my past drinking. It wasn’t the
first time the poor woman had to hear this.

In response, she said something I wish I had written down
and kept, not only because it stunned my thinking, but because it was a perfect
demonstration of Ephesians 4:15 which teaches that we are to speak the truth in
love so that “we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him
who is the head, that is Christ.”

My friend said something to the effect of,

“Barb, your struggle with alcohol isn’t any greater of a
struggle than anyone else has experienced.”

Wow.

I mean, to most people that would be a slap in the face—a
secular counselor’s first rule of what not to do when “helping” someone.

But this woman—and it’s important to note that she and I had
an established friendship—spoke in a firm but loving tone and manner—at a time
when I desperately needed to hear it—Gospel Truth.

Her words were what the Bible itself actually teaches:

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you
can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you
can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

I felt the golden nugget of conviction at her words.

Yes, I had overcome an addiction through the grace and truth
of Jesus Christ.

But the fact that I had struggled, along with all of the reasons
behind it, had begun to control and infect me and thus, my life, relationships
and attitudes.

I was indulging in an interpretation of my struggle as being singular in importance and effect.

In addition, I was holding myself accountable to a past accomplishment
only, ignorant of the work that remained to be done on underlying and newly
emerging issues.

In this, I had anointed myself a special case: a Joan of
Arc in the successful battle with egregious transgression, and now a martyr to
that very victory.

It’s moments like these for which relationships, I believe,
were made.

Yes, we can commiserate, listen to and comfort one another.
All are necessary.

But a real relationship gains strength and is tested by
loving honesty.

It is this honesty from a sister in Christ that opened me up
to the Truth of Christ about myself and away from my own, and the world’s, estimation that I was justified to wear my past drinking on my sleeve and disavow
myself of any further progress.

I could no longer idly blame the drinking, and the reasons
for it, for every dysfunction in my personality and behavior. Nor could
I continue to simply ride triumph’s coattails.

Only when my friend had the guts to point out that, um, I
wasn’t really special, in fact, not special at all in what I had been through and overcome, was I enabled to measure myself as the sinner that I am, right
along with everyone else.

Additionally, as a repentant Christian, I have been redeemed from
all sin, also right along with every other Christian. Any victory in
Christ is equal to others' victory in Christ.

Romans 3:23 doesn’t mince words when it says,

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

So we can’t claim uniqueness in that.

But Romans 3:22a, appearing just before the above verse, is also
clear:

“...righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe...”

So we are not to stymie our maturity by wallowing in or
clinging pridefully to past unrighteousness or the overcoming of it.

Instead, we proceed down the avenue of 2 Corinthians 5:17:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”

In this, I—along with any sense of being special in the
struggle or the overcoming—am healthily humbled.

copyright Barb Harwood

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only
aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the
task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24

“Not that I have already attained all this, or have already
arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should
take such a view of things...” Philippians 3:12-15a

“Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from
thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit.”

(And remember, Scripture teaches us that only God is good
and the author of all good: Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; James 1:17).

What, then, is a good tree but the tree that is rooted in
Christ? And what is a bad tree but the tree that isn’t.

I ended yesterday’s post with a distinction: to believe
Christ, not in Him.

Many, many, people say they believe IN Christ, or if
not in Christ, then in a generic god (that they may even interpret as Biblical).

James 2:19 says,

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons
believe that—and shudder.”

And Romans 1:21-22, and 1:25:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal
human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and
worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever
praised. Amen.”

Jesus has a word for those who co-opt Christ for social
justice or charitable acts, or merely verbalize a rote belief in him:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many
miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

What is the “will of my Father who is in heaven?”

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son
and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the
last day” (John 6:40).

This verse uses the terminology “believes in him.” But as the Matthew 7 verse
imparts, there is more to believing in Christ than simply belief in Christ. It
requires knowing Christ in personal intimacy, within the truth of the entire
Gospel of Good News, which Christ came to deliver individually to each and
every one of us.

How does this all tie in with yesterday’s Luke 12:48 verse?

We established in that post that God has already given us
the Kingdom.

We see that the Bible makes it clear that belief in Christ
is not to be undertaken lightly, that much will be required and demanded of us
who have been given, and who have received, the Kingdom--been given and received Christ Himself. That is the “much”
that we have been given: God in Christ and His Holy Spirit.

So when we choose to seek and enter the Kingdom, saved by
Christ alone, we no longer perceive, respond and act in the old earthly way.
What is demanded and asked of us, per the Luke 12 verse, is to grow more and
more like Christ. That means that, as our love for the Lord our God increases with
all of our heart, minds, bodies, strength, soul and spirit, we are driven to
please Him. And we do it freely, in the joy and life that He Himself stated He
came to fill up in us (John 10:10 and 15:11).

So, no longer can we keep ourselves in charge.

No longer can we take offense when Jesus says that people took
offense at Him first.

No longer can we self-righteously judge others when Jesus
says that God will judge everyone and He will avenge—our job is merely to
focus on the log in our own eye.

The call of God in Christ Jesus, the "much" that is required
of us, is to (and Scripture provides many more teachings on How to live as
Christ) do the following:

“...grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18a).

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:30-32).

Participate in the divine nature by adding to our faith:

“goodness; and
goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual
affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5b-7).

And listed as the most important by Jesus Himself, because
it is the way to the good tree that bears good fruit:

“Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with
all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

And if we say we love Him, then it is required
of us to love Him, and thus, to
obey Him:

“If you love me, keep
my commands” (John 14:15).

“Anyone who does not
love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong
to the Father who sent me” (John 14:24).

We cannot “follow” some vague god of denominational devising
that has been disembodied from the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We cannot conjure up a good “god,” or even a good self, from
our fallen, sinful inner nature and hope to grow good fruit. These Godless acts will always be tainted with selfish motivation and pride, which is why God
calls these sorts of personal deeds “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).

Instead,

“Jesus answered, ‘I
am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now
on, you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7)

The difference between a life of belief “in” and a life that
believes Christ and His Gospel is the difference between whether we will be a
tree that bears good fruit or a tree that bears bad fruit in the sight of God.

Once we believe Christ and His Gospel, we are ready to
examine and live out the “much” that is “demanded” of us.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be
demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be
asked.” Luke 12:48b

When we look at this verse, especially without Biblical
context, many are prone to think “material:” whoever has been given much materially....and
whoever has been entrusted with much materially or professionally...must
give back materially.

Is that what this verse is limited to? Because if it is,
this is what it means: to everyone who has been given many things--a house,
car, clothes, food, water, birthday presents, televisions, computers and iPhones--much will be demanded.

We think to ourselves, “Okay, it must mean that
since I’ve got so many things, then
I must give many things in
return.

Following that line of logic, wouldn’t it imply that we give
housing, food, clothing, iPhones and cars to others?

Understanding this verse
in this way, do people actually do that on a regular basis? Do the people who insist on this quite
popular and common interpretation of Luke 12:48 buy two iPhones, one for themselves and one for someone who cannot
afford one?

See, the main problem with the above interpretation of this
verse is that, aside from being interpreted entirely out of context and outside
of a systematic Biblical theology, it is transactional.

It gets back to the age-old quandary of good enough: how
good do we have to be to get to heaven? Mother Teresa good, or Richard Nixon
good?

The same quandary applies when we co-opt these verses to our
personal, (and let’s face it, often self-righteous) construct: how much is
enough to give? If I buy a boat, who is the recipient of the giftboat? Is fifty bucks in the collection plate at Christmas enough?For every item we
possess, are we to give the same and equal possession to someone else? Are we
to not gain anything new for our self until we have provided equal material
gain for our neighbor?

If we look at what directly precedes these lines in Luke, we
find three entire paragraphs filled with Jesus telling his disciples (that
would be us) to not worry about what we are to wear and what we are to eat. He
tells us not to worry about our material needs because “your Father knows that
you need them.”

God knows everyone’s needs (and those needs are more than just material).

He knows how to meet those
needs: physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Here’s how: by
instructing us, his disciples, to “seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as
well.” And that means that when we seek His Kingdom first, those less fortunate will be the recipients as well.

See, when we seek the material, and make faith and church
about the physical provision and reception of blessingsonly, we are not seeking the Kingdom of
God.

Luke 12 is pointing out that people are worrying about the
physical and material. God says to stop that and to seek His kingdom.

This Kingdom, by the way, is the very Kingdom God has already “been pleased to give you” (Luke
12:32).

So we are to seek what He has already given us! It’s there! Not
transactional: the gift of God’s Kingdom to us has already been given!

It is we
who are either seeking it and thus receiving it, or not seeking it and thus not
receiving it. The transaction, if there is any, is upon us to simply go after
it. God does not withdraw it: the gift of His Kingdom remains for us whether we
accept it or not.

And as we shall see, this Kingdom is primarily not simply
material. A faith that lives and breathes only in the context of material void
or gain is not faith in Jesus Christ, and does not live in the Kingdom of God.

The actual interpretation of the Luke 12:48 verse goes much,
much, deeper, to the very core of what it means to believe Christ, not just
believe in Christ.

I’ll write more on that in the coming week.

copyright Barb Harwood

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the
commandments, which is the most important?’

‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
Mark 12:28-30

Monday, September 18, 2017

“Rather than creating us as amoral robots or dooming mankind
for our sin or condoning our sin by leaving it unresolved, God chose the one
and only way to settle the problem. He created us with the freedom to choose
our actions, and then extended forgiveness to
us. Forgiveness is the Christian answer to the problem of evil.

Forgiveness is different from condemnation—it
releases the condemned from punishment. Forgiveness is also different from
excusing evil—it acknowledges that there is wrong to be made right. The basis
of our forgiveness, the cross, is the intersection of God’s perfect moral
character, love, and omnipotence. Since He
chose to take our penalty upon Himself, all suffering and evil can be overcome.
According to the Bible, the evil we experience in this life has already been
defeated, and everyone has access to that victory.

Taken as a whole, as it is intended, the Bible describes evil
as something God allowed, but never condoned, for the sake of our free will.
All through history, God has taken steps to limit the influence of evil. And,
most importantly, God Himself took the consequences of our sin, so every person
can have access to forgiveness and salvation. As a result, all sin, evil, and
suffering will someday be completely ended. Beyond the philosophical or
theological aspects of this issue, Scripture in and of itself goes a long way
to neutralizing the power of the 'problem of evil.'” GotQuestions.org

Read the entire article, titled, What is the Biblical Solution to Evil? here: